


Unconventional meetings

by flaminpumpkin



Series: Batlantern Week [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff, M/M, The Batkids are a crazy overprotective bunch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29906043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flaminpumpkin/pseuds/flaminpumpkin
Summary: Bruce goes on a date and the kids, being awfully protective of him, follow him to make sure everything goes well. Disaster ensues.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & His Kids, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Series: Batlantern Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199015
Comments: 11
Kudos: 117
Collections: Batlantern Week





	Unconventional meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! 
> 
> This is my first entry for Batlantern Week, the prompt I chose being "Meeting the family / Batkids find out". I've been hitching to write some batkids shenanigans for some time now and this was just the perfect occasion to do it, so I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> (As always, english is not my native language so I apologize for any horrendous grammar/spelling mistake)
> 
> (Edit 03/08/2021: The "Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne" tag was a mistake on my part because it was supposed to be "Bruce Wayne & his kids" but it somehow ended up with that instead, I don't know why, and I forgot to check that before posting. My apologies to whoever came here to read those two and felt misleaded)

“So. Damian’s got a new pet. A chicken,” Dick said to fill the silence between him and Jason, because it was well known that Dick Grayson abhorred silence.

They were waiting for Bruce’s secret date to show up, perched on the edge of some building nearby the small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant Bruce had chosen. They probably shouldn’t be doing this. Invading their father’s privacy like that was most definitely the worst idea they’ve ever had and god knew they’d had a bunch of them in the past.

But everyone had noticed it.

The way Bruce’s smile had seemed to become a more common occurrence these past three months; that fond little twinkle always present in his glacier blue eyes. Bruce was a loving father, mind you, even if he had some difficulties expressing himself sometimes and all of them knew that. They had witnessed that fond look more often than people would expect from the Bat. Though recently, it had seemed like this was his default expression around the manor.

It was odd but Bruce seemed a bit more happy, more carefree, spending less time in the cave and more outside, not necessarily out on dates – none of the kids could remember him taking a single day off – but roaming the gardens, seemingly on the phone with someone. They were never long conversations, from what Dick had observed – and from what Damian had reported to him because _this is disturbing, Grayson, we should investigate_ – but his father had looked a lot more relaxed after each of them.

He just looked… He looked happier. And it wasn’t a sight any of them was used to but it made all of them happier too.

So when Bruce had announced he was taking the night off, each and every one of them had perked up, even Alfred. There wasn’t any gala until the next month and he obviously hadn’t been planning on staying in to work on a case. Which was completely and utterly unexpected. So there really had been only one option left.

Bruce was going on a date.

Dick was pretty sure they’d all felt it. That bone deep, vicious protective instinct. Even Jason. Because Bruce had seemed to finally let himself be happy in the last few months instead of taking whatever he could and waiting for the other shoe to drop, and since it was obviously a first date – information they were sure of thanks to Tim and his stalking habits – they had felt like it was their duty to make sure everything went well. And may all the deities of the universe protect the poor soul who was going on a date with Bruce if they fucked up at any moment.

None of them were going to risk their father’s potential happiness after the disaster with Selina. _Even if stalking him on a date is the worst idea we’ve ever had._

“Really?” came the bored drawl of Jason’s voice after a few agonizingly long seconds.

Disinterest was practically dribbling from this single word but Dick didn’t care. At least he was talking to someone.

“Her name is Bat-hen,” Damian added haughtily through the com.

“Seriously? Bat-hen?”

Jason glanced in Dick’s direction. Or so it seemed like it, he could never tell when the younger man had that damn helmet on. And then he snorted. Loud, graceless and incredulous.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Dickiebird, kid.”

Because, another well-known fact, every bat-named thing this family possessed was his fault. But it was Bruce’s own fault for enabling him anyway. It really wasn’t like he had said anything the first time Dick had called the Batmobile, well, the Batmobile.

“Just be grateful Goliath and Titus didn’t end up being named Bat-dragon and Bat-dog, Hood.”

And then there was a loud thud and scuffling sounds mixed with some curses, in both English and Arabic. Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. Why had he thought pairing up Tim and Damian was a good idea again? He couldn’t remember. Probably because it wasn’t.

“Jesus, Robin! Stop biting Red!” came Stephanie’s voice, half laughing.

More curses and sounds of wrestling.

Jason turned his head fully toward Dick and there was two possibilities here. The first, Jason was sporting a giant shit eating grin under his helmet because he was always thoroughly amused, for some weird reasons, when Tim and Damian fought. Or, second option, he looked as done as Dick because yes, sometimes it happened. Though the young man was convinced the first option was more likely to be happening right now.

“Unhand me, woman!”

“Who fed this thing after midnight?”

Jason snickered at that, which came out in a weird, buzzing sound through his voice modulator.

“The bat brat doesn’t need to be fed after midnight to be a little shit, Blondie. You should know that.”

Dick sighed, massaging his temples in circular motions now, eyes squeezed shut in exasperation.

“Guys, please. Can you be serious for more than five seconds?”

He was surprised when he was met with resounding silence and he almost hoped they would be able to continue this little secret mission of theirs in relative peace until Stephanie spoke.

“Oh my god! Did you hear that?”

“What?” Dick asked, alarmed, body alert and ready to fight in record time.

“Your poor attempt at a dad voice!”

And then she and Jason were cackling uncontrollably.

Dick often found himself sympathizing with Bruce in moments like these because he could already feel a headache coming from all the screeching laughter in his ears.

“Yeah, that was pretty bad N, not gonna lie.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with the pretender on this one, Grayson.”

“Lame,” added Cassandra from somewhere behind Dick and when exactly had she moved from Tim, Steph and Damian’s rooftop to theirs?

Thankfully, both he and Jason were used to her appearing out of thin air at the most inopportune moment so no physical reaction showed but he would be damned if he ever pretended his heart didn’t skip a beat every time she did that. 

She went to plop down on the edge of the building next to Jason, bumping her shoulder against his and he bumped it back gently just as Duke manifested himself, speaking for the first time since Bruce had arrived at the restaurant. (He was probably too busy regretting ever agreeing to be part of this whole operation to do so, anyway.)

“Do you guys see what I’m seeing or am I imagining Green Lantern landing on a roof right now?”

“Where?”

“On your three, one block away from the restaurant.”

Dick’s head whipped to the side, seeing Jason and Cass get up in one swift move out of the corner of his eyes, and, surely enough, they saw none other than Green Lantern descend towards the roof of the building Duke had pointed out.

“What’s he doing here?”

“Probably coming to see B.”

“We can’t let him disrupt Father!”

And just after Damian uttered the words in an affronted voice, Dick could hear Stephanie and Tim calling after him. This was a bad idea. A terrible idea even, but now that he was here, he needed to do some damage control before Bruce noticed anything.

“Move your ass, Dickie, we need to stop the demon brat before he starts causing trouble,” Jason said, firing his grappling gun.

Of course he was the last one to react and leave the building, _dammit!_

* * *

Hal landed as discreetly as he could on a rooftop, a block away from the address Bruce had given him.

He willed his uniform out of existence, letting out a deep breath to center himself while he ran a hand through his hair to make it look somewhat presentable, and looked down at himself. At the light grey button up he was wearing under his bomber jacket, thinking he should have gone for the green one because, well, green was his color; at his jeans, the ones he had brought six months ago but hadn’t had the time to wear because life had been kind of crazy this past year so they still looked brand new. How was it possible to feel underdressed and overdressed at the same time?

_Calm the fuck down, Hal. It’s just a date._

Just a date. With Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy. Batman. Spooky. To whom he had more or less confessed his undying love three months ago while under the influence of a truth spell as the League fought some weird space wizard who had decided that mind-controlling Diana was a good idea. He still blushed furiously at the memory.

He had been shot out of the sky by the spell that had probably meant to be a distraction but Bruce had managed to catch him before the inevitable crash. He had been dizzy, from the Gs and from the magic running through him, and he had just babbled about how much he actually appreciated him and how grateful he was to have him as a teammate while Batman checked him for any life threatening injuries.

“ _I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you at this point, Spooky. Probably have been for like, a year and a half now. And every time we fight I don’t know if I wanna punch you or kiss you. Probably kiss you. Most definitely. Kiss you. Hundred percent._ ”

 _Probably kiss you_ , he thought with a scrunch of his nose. _Smooth, Jordan. Real smooth._

And the conversation in his quarters afterward, back at the Watchtower. It had been… humiliating. Truly. Until Bruce had rolled his eyes in exasperation with a growl and kissed him.

Fair and square.

Right on the mouth.

It had been over way too soon for Hal’s taste but at least he had stopped panicking. For a total of five seconds. And then it had been worst. Bruce had clearly been at loss at what to do in face of Hal’s incessant babbling and it had taken a good ten minutes of awkward silence before they could talk somewhat normally. A couple of hours later, they had finally settled down, conversation flowing a lot more easily between the two of them. Bruce had pulled off his cowl at some point and Hal had traded his uniform for his civilian clothes, both of them sitting on Hal’s bed.

But then his ring had pinged and he had to report for a mission for the Corps.

“ _Don’t get yourself killed out there, Jordan_ ,” Bruce had said as he went to exit his quarters, his tone without a doubt aiming for teasing but Hal had seen a trace of concern grace the features of his uncovered face.

“ _You know me, Spooky. Always careful._ ” Then after a short pause: “ _I’ll give you weekly updates, if you’re so worried._ ”

He had intended for it to be a joke, to lighten the heaviness of the air between them. But Bruce had looked at him with an unreadable expression for a few seconds then, lips pinched, before sighing and closing his eyes, as if he had just lost a fight against himself. He had answered another couple of moments later, voice a quiet rumble but his eyes determined.

“ _I would like that, actually_.”

Saying that Hal had been taken aback by the raw sincerity in those few words would be an understatement. This wasn’t something he was used too. Especially not coming from Bruce, who was always so guarded with his emotions. It had touched him, really. He had almost been grateful for that stupid spell. “Almost” being the key word, because the headache he’d nursed for the three days after that had been enough for him to wish he’d had his way with the wizard.

“ _I’ll try then_.”

And then he had left for a three months assignment, two sectors over.

The first time he had called Bruce to check on him, nearly ten days after his departure, it had been on a direct line with the Cave. His assignment hadn’t been so far from Earth that communication was impossible but just far enough to make it tricky. Eventually Bruce, always so resourceful (and mostly thanks to the direct relay from the Watchtower’s satellite to the Cave) had been able to transfer their calls from the Cave’s monitor to one of his communicators, probably one of those that looked that satellite phone.

“ _There’s always people in the Cave_ ,” had been Bruce’s explanation when Hal had asked him why.

The hints of relief in the other man’s voice every time he had picked up had only made the pilot love him all the more. He hadn’t been used to this side of the man, the one that showed his emotions slightly more freely than before. And, in all honesty, it had felt incredibly good. To call him and talk about everything and nothing; to be able to make him laugh with anecdotes from past missions and god. Bruce’s laugh. Hal could write sonnets about it and he wasn’t even that well versed in poetry.

He had been able to hear birds chirp, the sound of the rain, of the wind, some dog – Titus, Damian’s dog, he had learned – bark happily at Bruce. Those were things he never heard in the void of space, things he missed desperately, and he had been incredibly grateful for Bruce for that, even if it was only perceived through the speaker of some phone.

At some point during his last call while on assignment, Bruce had agreed on going on a date with him despite the awfully inelegant way Hal had had to just blurt out his invitation. He had groaned, exasperated with himself, by the utter disaster he was but the Bat had gone surprisingly easy on him, not mentioning it and simply accepting. Another thing Hal had been grateful for.

Which was what had led him here, on this rooftop, barely three days after coming back from space, running a hand through his hair nervously and messing it up more than taming it at this point. Bruce had taken pity on him and his space-lagged self and had decided to plan the date, sending him an address and a time to meet him.

Hal hadn’t expected for the restaurant to look this cozy when he had checked it out on internet earlier. It had looked rather small and ordinary enough but incredibly welcoming, even through the pictures. Just a little local restaurant, lost in the streets of Gotham. Not exactly Bruce’s usual scene, if you believed the tabloids. But he guessed that if the man wanted to have a date without having to worry about people interfering, he wasn’t going to choose some big fancy restaurant. Knowing him, he had probably done a background check of the staff. That made Hal smile to himself.

But he was suddenly, and rather violently, pulled out of his musing by a batarang lodging itself in the concrete. Right between his fucking feet.

* * *

“What are you doing here uninvited, Lantern?”

Jason landed on the roof right behind Damian, just in time to grab him by the hood of his cape before the brat started stomping towards Jordan, who looked rightfully taken aback. Honestly, Jason would be too if he was attacked by a thirteen year old vigilante who looked like a rabid squirrel with a sword.

“Jesus Christ, demon!” he said, picking him up like he weighed nothing. “That’s a League member, you idiot. Not some rogue. So don’t try to kill him, ok?”

Everyone had arrived on the roof by now, circling the other hero like he was some kind of criminal. And they said Jason was the one without manners? Seriously, Alfred would be appalled.

Deciding not to pay them any mind for now, he turned to Hal who seemed to finally recognize him. He hadn’t seen the Lantern since that time he had walked in on Jason and Kyle kissing and the man’s mind was clearly oscillating between being uncomfortable and wanting to give Jason the shovel talk.

“’Sup Hal?”

Apparently, he settled on uncomfortable. If the way he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket was anything to go by.

“Hey, Jason.”

“How you doin’, man?”

“Hum…”

Jason would have laughed at the other man’s obvious discomfort but it seemed like he was the only one trying to diffuse the situation. For once. Everyone else hadn’t moved, not even Dick, still surrounding Jordan like a pack of wolves.

They all took Batman’s no-uninvited-heroes-are-allowed-in-Gotham rule way too seriously. The man was probably here for some League business or whatnot and they might be keeping him from telling Bruce. The old man would tear all of them a new one if he came to hear about this. No matter how much they all wanted for Bruce’s date to go well, there were some things that were more important and this was definitely one of those things. God, he hated being the responsible one.

“Cease this nonsense immediately! Todd, unhand me before I amputate you!”

His patience was starting to run low. Really low. And the situation wasn’t helping. He found himself wishing he had agreed to accompany Artemis and Bizarro on that mission a few days ago. At least he would be enjoying some good company and having to babysit a screeching gremlin.

“Sheesh, just calm the fuck down before I put you down.”

But he put Damian down anyway, keeping a firm hand on his shoulder, just in case.

“That sounded awfully like a threat,” Tim mumbled.

“Well it wasn’t,” he drawled back. “Anyway.”

Jason turned his head towards Jordan again. His uncovered eyes were discreetly fleeting across every single one of them, as if he was analyzing his surroundings, searching for the best escape route. Once again, he couldn’t blame him. They weren’t exactly looking like the most welcoming bunch.

“What are you doing here?”

Finally. Dick was deciding to intervene. _About damn time, Bluebird_. The older man had been reserved about the whole operation when Stephanie and Damian had brought it up. Rightfully so. But his lack of reaction was really unnerving.

“Is it about the League?”

Jordan hesitated, eyes darting to Damian for some reason, before talking carefully.

“Well, no.”

“Do you need assistance for something, maybe?”

“Nope. I’m just here to see Bruce.”

Jason could literally feel everyone narrow their eyes behind their masks at that. Hell, even _he_ did. The way he had talked sounded suspicious enough to put him on alert.

“Why?”

“Personal matter.”

_Wait a damn minute._

“We can’t let you see him. He’s busy right now and should not be disturbed.”

“I really need to see him so if you could, you know, let me through.”

 _Wait_ , Jason thought watching Damian take a step forward as Jordan did too. Stephanie was the one to grab his hood this time, holding him back before he got all of them in trouble for being a hot-headed brat. But… Jason couldn’t be the only one being put off by the fact that the Lantern was so insistent on seeing their old man.

“Look, Hal,” Dick continued, completely unperturbed, hands on his hips. “You know how B is about his rules and Gotham so maybe you could come back tomorrow? He’s really busy right now.”

Something stilled in Jordan’s eyes and he sighed, hands slowly coming out of his pocket. Jason really didn’t like the faint glow of his ring. The Lantern, shook his head, looking resigned.

They were going to get their asses kicked. Jason could feel it. If it wasn’t Jordan, it was going to be Bruce and he didn’t want that. He was the only one who had tried to ease up the situation, he didn’t deserve that. The _one time_ he had tried to be the level headed one.

“Ok,” Jordan said, surprisingly, letting out a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, guys.”

Jason would have been relieved by the other hero’s apparent resignation if the next second they hadn’t all been engulfed in a big, green bubble, landing on each other in a heap of armored limbs.

* * *

Hal hastily landed in the alley next to the building and took off immediately. The restaurant was barely a block away. He could make it. He had still enough focus in him to keep his construct up despite the panic.

This was the worst first impression he could ever had given to Bruce’s kids. Not that most of them didn’t know him but locking them in a bubble on the day of his first date with their father wasn’t the first meeting with the family he had expected. He just hoped this wasn’t going to turn into a disaster and ruin his chances.

But he also didn’t want to give Bruce the impression that he didn’t care by showing up late, so he had acted on instinct. It was probably irrational of him to think so because, despite all the times he had chastised Hal for arriving late at meetings, Bruce had never implied that it meant he didn’t care.

The thing was, this wasn’t hero business. It was personal, something between them. And he was all too aware of what had happened with Catwoman. So maybe it had definitely been the wrong thing to do because Bruce’s little army of vigilantes was going to come after him the minute he diffused his construct, but he wanted to prove to the other man he was serious about this. That it meant something to Hal, that he wanted it to work more than he had ever wanted for any other romantic relationship in his life.

So he ran. He could worry about his ass getting kicked later. Maybe.

He barged through the door of the restaurant, out of breath. That earned him a few glares from customers closest to the doors and a terrified look from the waiter who was nearest. Hal smiled apologetically, sheepish. They were in Gotham after all. The poor man had probably thought they were being attacked or something.

“Good evening, Mister! How can I help you?” piped a petite redhead next to him, startling him a bit.

He could swear she had materialized out of thin air, which wouldn’t even have surprised him anymore – he had seen weirder things in space.

“Hum, yes…”

He didn’t know how to say it. Bruce would have told him if he had planned to use a fake name, right? But honestly, every gothamite knew who Bruce Wayne was and how he looked so using a fake name was most likely useless. He still lowered his voice, just in case.

“I’m here with Mister Wayne?”

The waitress’ eye twinkled and her lips formed a little “o” as she seemed to realize.

“This way then, Mister!”

Hal liked her. She hadn’t made a big fuss, which was a good sign, and had given him a little plotting, knowing smile before turning away toward the room. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do. He would have given her the biggest tip possible.

She led him through the tables and Hal took advantage of it to look around. The interior of the restaurant looked even better than on the photos he had found on the website. The room was warm and cozy with little alcoves for more private table but everything seemed so ordinary, familiar. It felt welcoming, filled with normal people having ordinary discussions, at least from the bits and pieces he caught.

 _Such a shame_ , he thought, guilt growing _. It looks nice_.

And then he saw him.

Bruce looked as unassuming as the next guy, sitting on his chair completely relaxed, leaning back. His hair wasn’t slicked back like it usually was, instead falling freely against his forehead. He was wearing some black slacks and a light blue V-neck sweater. He kind of the looked like a dad, Hal thought with a smile. The hot kind, though.

“Here’s your table,” the waitress said, sending a warm smile in Bruce’s direction.

He answered with one of his own.

“Thank you, Carla.”

And then she sauntered away to go take care of another table with the same radiant smile, leaving Hal standing next to the table.

“You know her?” he blurted, because now that he was facing Bruce, he didn’t know what to do.

Bruce quirked his eyebrow, amused.

“She was my secretary for a while. Then she decided to open her own restaurant.”

Hal gawked at that. She looked so young!

“She is a gifted one,” Bruce added as he glanced in Carla’s direction.

He sounded almost proud.

They lapsed into an awkward silence for a few seconds after that. Or at the very least, it was awkward for Hal. The other man simply finished what the pilot assumed had been some type of white wine.

“You’re allowed to sit down, you know?”

“You didn’t make reservation for this, did you?”

They said at the same time. Bruce looked at him incredulously – which would have been funny in other circumstances – before his face turned completely blank.

“No,” he started cautiously. “I told Carla I was coming but not to reserve any table in case you couldn’t make it because of… Work.”

And by work he obviously meant the Corp, not his job at Ferris. This man was truly perfect.

“Ok, cool. We’re not staying.”

And maybe he shouldn’t have made a pause and explained immediately why he had said that because, apparently, two and a half second was enough for Bruce’s brain to come up with the worst possible outcome. If the twitch in his jaw and the look of hurt in his blue eyes were anything to go by. Hal really did love Bruce but sometimes he really hated how fast his thought process was and how incline he was to consider the worst in any situation. He guessed it came with being Batman. But still.

“Before you say anything,” he sputtered as Bruce made a sign for Carla to bring the check like the little snub he was – they were going to have a conversation about how to ask things nicely, because knowing the staff didn’t cut it. “I’m not- It’s not- What you probably think it is, ok?”

That same eyebrow raised again but, this time, Bruce looked a lot less amused.

“It’s just- I ran into your kids-”

“What?”

“-and I’m pretty sure one of them is gonna come barreling through the front door to whoop my ass and I don’t want that, ok? I don’t want that,” he rambled, completely ignoring Bruce’s question and the way his eyes had widened infinitesimally. “I want this to be perfect. Not that I don’t want to meet your kids! I mean, I want to, obviously. I’m in this for you, that includes your kids, and you know, I already know Dick and Tim pretty well and I love them. Really. Your kids are so goddamn fantastic, Bruce.”

“Jordan, breathe-”

Hal shook his head, batting a hand in a dismissive manner, and just kept going because he needed all of it out. Bruce needed to understand what was happening before his brain could come up with an even worse explanation.

“Although I’m still reserved on my opinion of Jason because the last time I saw him he had his tongue down Kyle’s throat and you know I’m pretty protective of the kid. But anyway. This is a first date and first dates are not for meeting the family. Especially not the thirteen year old with anger management issues who probably think I’m going to steal his dad when all I want to do is make him think I’m cool. So, yeah. We’re leaving.”

Hal figured he really had forgotten to breathe during his little rant because now he was panting, waiting expectantly for Bruce to stop staring at him like he had grown a second head. He blinked owlishly at the pilot one more time before he started to notice the corners of his lips trembling. Bruce pinched his lips tightly and all Hal could do was stare.

Because he was clearly, obviously, _very visibly_ holding back his laughter and it was _hard_ for him to do so.

“Bruce could you please say something? You look like you’re about to blow a fuse Harley Quinn style.”

Carla gave them a curious look as she brought the check and Bruce gave her his credit card wordlessly. It was a bit unnerving. Hal was still expecting for one of kids to barge in. The thought was quite irrational if he really stopped to think about it – none of the kids would risk putting their father’s identity in jeopardy this way – but he couldn’t help it.

He only realized he had been glancing over his shoulder towards the entrance the whole time when Carla brushed past him. His head snapped back to Bruce who was standing next to him, his eyebrow quirked up again, the amused glint in his eyes back.

“Alright.”

“Alright what?”

“Let’s go. You said we were leaving, right?”

Everything about Bruce was relaxed again, inviting even, like he was just waiting for Hal to lean into his space and rest against him or kiss him. Now that he was allowed to witness this, the pilot wondered how he could have ever passed on the opportunity to take Bruce on a date for so long. He almost wanted to thank that wizard. But the thought of the Bat’s little army of vigilantes coming after him was still persistently nagging the back of his mind so he would have to think about all of this later.

For now, he simply smirked at the other man and grabbed his hand firmly, lacing their fingers together.

“We’re outta here,” he said, pulling Bruce towards the exit with a wide grin on his face, not giving a damn about the fact that they were practically running.

He winked at Carla on their way out and the young woman giggled and gave him a thumbs up, which made Bruce huff a quiet laugh behind him.

“So you want to meet my kids?” Bruce asked as they stepped out in the chill air of Gotham’s September evening.

“Of course I want to meet your kids, Spooky. I already told y-”

Hal didn’t have time to finish.

Bruce was pulling him in a dark corner on the side of the building and next thing he knew, he had a pair of soft, slightly chapped lips pressed against his. He let out a small sound of surprise, allowing Bruce to slip his tongue in his mouth teasingly, and the pilot melted against the other man, hands coming up to cradle his face gently. All his senses narrowed down to the feeling of Bruce’s lips on his. Of Bruce’s tongue brushing lightly against his before retreating playfully, of Bruce’s hands squeezing his waist through his clothes and keeping him flushed against his body, of just… Bruce being here with him, at this moment. Everything felt simply perfect.

It was over way too soon for Hal’s taste, just like that first time on the Watchtower but Bruce pushed his forehead against his lightly, staying oh so close, warm breath ghosting over Hal’s wet lips, and he couldn’t really complain.

“So. What do we do now?”

Hal blinked. Well. He hadn’t thought about that part, to be completely honest. Unless…

“There’s this nice little restaurant in Coast- Well, restaurant might be an overstatement since it’s more of a shack on the sea shore with a terrace and fairy lights but,” he paused, still a bit breathless from their kiss, and licked his lips, eyes darting all over Bruce’s soft, gorgeous face. “They make the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted and they’re open until late. And they have good beer. So, if you’re still up for it, we can go there. I can get us there in like, three hours top.”

Bruce smiled, gentle and secretive again, before leaning in for another kiss.

“Well, the night is young, isn’t it?” he whispered against Hal’s lips.

* * *

“Oh. Oh well.”

“Holy shit.”

“Not what I was expecting.”

“At least, Father has better tastes in men than Drake.”

“Hey.”

But there wasn’t any heat behind Tim’s voice. They just stared, shocked, at the two men kissing down below. One of them being their adoptive father for crying out loud, Tim thought, clearing his throat and turning away to clamp a hand on both Damian’s and Stephanie’s eyes. They both batted his hand away with “tt”.

“He looks happy,” Cassandra murmured and they all could hear the little smile in her voice.

And she was right. Bruce looked happy. Happier than he had ever been with Selina. He wasn’t smiling anymore but Tim could tell that the fond look on his father’s face was there again. The one that softened his features and made him look younger. The young vigilante could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he had seen Bruce this carefree. It felt good to see him like this.

“Well,” Duke started, a hand on his hip, “I guess giving him the shovel talk won’t do a lot.”

“Nah, I think we kind of already scared him enough.”

Everybody hummed at Jason’s assessment, watching Bruce and Hal disappear in the alley next to the restaurant. A few seconds later, there was a flash of green and Green Lantern was flying away at high speed in a fighter jet construct. With Bruce inside.

Dick clapped his hands together.

“Alright! Fun’s over, let’s get going, guys! Patrol awaits!”

The com suddenly buzzed to life as they all prepared to take off and start patrol, Barbara’s curious voice filling their ears.

“You guys want to tell me why B just texted me to tell you lots to come to the manor tomorrow?”

Oh, they were so screwed.

**Author's Note:**

> (Hal officially meets the kids three days later because they keep harassing Bruce and there's only so much prodding this man can handle.  
> Jason is overjoyed because he can finally roast Bruce with someone. Steph too. Damian thinks he’s cool and wants Hal to take him on a ride in one of his planes one day, to Bruce’s absolute horror. Dick is just happy they’re happy. Tim has already adopted him because apparently they share the same unhealthy love for coffee. Duke is having a crisis because he realizes Hal is just as batshit crazy (pun intended) as everyone else.  
> Everybody shuts up and stares when Cass grabs Hal’s hand and pulls him outside to take a walk in the garden.  
> Bruce and Alfred watch them through a window as Cass guides Hal around, a small flock trailing behind them.  
> They still give him the shovel talk though.)
> 
> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> As always, feedback keeps me going so don't hesitate to leave kudos and/or comments if you want ^^
> 
> I'm also on tumblr ( @flaminpumpkin ) & twitter ( @Dpressedpumpkin ) if you'd rather scream at me there (or with me, as you wish) ^^)v


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